The maintenance of body fluid balance is of foremost concern in the care and treatment of critically ill patients, yet physicians have access to few diagnostic tools to assist them in this vital task. Patients with congestive heart failure, for example, frequently suffer from chronic systemic edema, which must be controlled within tight limits to ensure adequate tissue perfusion and prevent dangerous electrolyte disturbances. Dehydration of infants and children suffering from diarrhea can be life-threatening if not recognized and treated promptly.
The most common method for judging the severity of edema or dehydration is based on the interpretation of subjective clinical signs (e.g., swelling of limbs, dry mucous membranes), with additional information provided by measurements of the frequency of urination, heart rate, serum urea nitrogen SUN/creatinine ratios, and blood electrolyte levels. None of these variables alone, however, is a direct and quantitative measure of water retention or loss.
The indicator-dilution technique, which provides the most accurate direct measure of water in body tissues, is the present de facto standard for assessment of body fluid distribution. It is, however, an invasive technique that requires blood sampling. Additionally, a number of patents have disclosed designs of electrical impedance monitors for measurement of total body water. The electrical-impedance technique is based on measuring changes in the high-frequency (typically 10 KHz-1 MHz) electrical impedance of a portion of the body. Mixed results have been obtained with the electrical-impedance technique in clinical studies of body fluid disturbances as reported by various investigators. The rather poor accuracy of the technique seen in many studies points to unresolved deficiencies of these designs when applied in a clinical setting.
Therefore, there exists a need for methods and devices for monitoring body water fractions which do not suffer from problems due to their being invasive, subjective, inaccurate, and difficult to interpret for the purpose of clinical diagnosis and intervention.